Home Office

Stalking

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the malicious use of Apple AirTags and similar devices to stalk victims without their knowledge; what estimate they have made of the prevalence of this behaviour; and what discussions they have had, or plan to have, with the manufacturers of such devices in order to prevent such stalking.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: Stalking is a terrible crime which causes significant harm to victims. The Government is committed to protecting and supporting victims of stalking and is determined to do everything it can to stop perpetrators at the earliest opportunity. I am aware of the reports of Apple AirTags being used by perpetrators to stalk their victims. Home Office officials have previously engaged with Apple on this issue and discussed Apple’s responses to the concerns raised and the measures it has taken with a view to ensuring safeguarding. We do not have data on the prevalence of stalking related to such devices. In order to improve our understanding of those who perpetrate abuse and identify what works to tackle their behaviour, the Home Office has invested over £2 million for various research projects since 2020, including research that specifically considered the way perpetrators may use technology to facilitate their abuse.

Asylum

Baroness Adams of Craigielea: To ask His Majesty's Government how many asylum caseworkers were employed (1) 2021, (2) 2022, and (3) 2023; and what was the attrition rate of asylum caseworkers in each of those years.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The number of asylum decision makers employed by the Home Office each month from January 2020 to December 2022 can be found in the ASY_05 (M) tab of the published migration transparency data located here: Immigration and protection data: Q4 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)Data for 2023 will be published in future releases.The attrition rate of decision makers is not routinely published but have been released to the Home Affairs Select Committee. The response can be found here: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/31774/documents/178754/default/To reduce attrition rates and help maintain our decision-making experience we have also implemented a recruitment and retention allowance. We have already doubled our decision makers over the last 2 years, and we are continuing to recruit more. This will take our expected number of decision makers to 1,800 by summer 2023 and 2,500 by September 2023.Letter - HASC  (pdf, 184.9KB)ASY-05- M Table  (xlsx, 622.9KB)

Refugees: Resettlement

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Murray of Blidworth on 22 March (HL6242), what were the figures for each year from 2013 to 2022.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: Between 2013 and 2022, 30,055 people have been resettled to the UK through UNHCR resettlement routes. The UK ranks 3rd highest of European countries over this period.The Home Office publishes data on resettlement in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on refugees resettled in the UK by scheme can be found in table Asy_D02 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. The latest data relate to the year ending December 2022.UNHCR resettlement routes include the Gateway Protection Programme, Mandate Scheme, Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS), Vulnerable Children Resettlement Scheme (VCRS), UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship Scheme and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme Pathway 2.table Asy_D02 (xlsx, 9184.2KB)

Housing: Migrants

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the suitability of the RAF base at Wethersfield in Essex as a site for housing migrants.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The United Kingdom has a legal obligation to provide asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute with accommodation and other support whilst their claim for asylum is being considered.Work across government was undertaken to identify and secure more appropriate, cost-effective accommodation options around the country. The site will provide basic, and functional accommodation whilst asylum seekers await a decision on their claim.The Home Office, supported by the MoD, is working on proposals which will see the current MoD Wethersfield site providing suitable accommodation for single adult male asylum seekers.The site at MoD Wethersfield is designed to be as self-sufficient as possible, helping to minimise the impact on local communities and services. This includes 24/7 security to reduce the need for police patrols, on-site catering, healthcare and transport provision for those housed on site.The safety and security of the local communities, those resident on the sites and the sites themselves are of the utmost importance. We are working closely with local police forces and other stakeholders to ensure appropriate security arrangements are in place.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury: To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to announce a third pathway under the Afghan Citizen Resettlement Scheme; and what that pathway will include both (1) journalists still resident in Afghanistan, and (2) exiled Afghan journalists in Pakistan and Iran, at risk of persecution for their professional activities.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: On 13 June 2022, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Office announced the launch Pathways 2 and 3 of the ACRS.Under Pathway 3, in the first year, places are being offered to eligible at-risk British Council contractors, GardaWorld contractors, and Chevening alumni in Afghanistan or the region. We are pleased to have welcomed the first arrivals to the UK and look forward to welcoming all remaining individuals as soon as practicable.Beyond this, we will work with international partners and NGOs to welcome wider groups of Afghans at risk under Pathway 3. This commitment still stands, and further details will be set out in due course.However, it is important that we take into account the capacity of the UK to resettle people, and our immediate focus is ensuring the relocation of those already assessed as eligible.

Asylum: Children

Baroness Adams of Craigielea: To ask His Majesty's Government what evidence they have regarding unaccompanied children seeking asylum that have gone missing while in temporary hotel accommodation; and what assessment they have made of any evidence of organised crime involvement in those disappearances.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The safety and wellbeing of those in our care is our primary concern. We have robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) in emergency interim hotels are safe and supported whilst we seek urgent placements with a local authority. Young people are supported by team leaders and support workers who are on site 24 hours a day. Further care is provided in hotels by teams of specialist social workers and nurses.We have no power to detain UASC in hotels and we know some do go missing. Many of those who have gone missing are subsequently traced and located. Children’s movements in and out of hotels are monitored and recorded and they are accompanied by support workers when attending organised activities and social excursions off-site, or where specific vulnerabilities are identified.There are many reasons why children go missing from care. This is also true of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. It would be wrong to make generalisations regarding the reasons for this.

Asylum: Applications

Baroness Adams of Craigielea: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have signed agreements with any countries, other than Rwanda, to remove those seeking asylum in the UK and to process their asylum applications; and if so, what are those countries.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: We have not yet entered into any Third Country Asylum Processing (TCAP) agreements with any other countries.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury: To ask His Majesty's Government how many endangered Afghan journalists have been resettled in UK to date under (1) the Afghan Citizen Resettlement Scheme, or (2) the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy, since the withdrawal of British military forces from that country.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: Statistics on individuals resettled or relocated under the Afghan schemes have now also become available in the Immigration System Statistics, year ending December 2022 release.They show that 21,387 people have now been resettled or relocated through the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP). This includes people identified as particularly at risk including journalists.Whilst I am not able to provide a breakdown of this data by occupation, work continues to assure information relating to all the people resettled and relocated to the UK, under the ACRS and the ARAP, on case working systems. Once this work concludes, statistics on both schemes - including the number of people resettled under each - will be included in the published Immigration Statistics.

Illegal Migration Bill

Baroness Adams of Craigielea: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the expected impact of their Illegal Migration Bill on victims of modern slavery and human trafficking.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The UK government remains committed to tackling the heinous crime of modern slavery and supporting victims. The Illegal Migration Bill will prevent people who come to the UK through illegal and dangerous journeys from accessing the provisions of the National Referral Mechanism.It is right that the government takes steps to address the threat to public order posed by individuals making dangerous journeys that cause loss of life and are inherently unsafe, both for themselves and First Responders.We support thousands of victims each year and will continue to do so following the implementation of the Illegal Migration Bill.We are working on developing guidance regarding the operation of these measures, including any potential impacts and how they relate to victims of Modern Slavery, to be introduced when it is appropriate to do so once the Illegal Migration Bill has progressed through Parliament.

Asylum: Children

Lord Scriven: To ask His Majesty's Government what provisions are in place to ensure each hotel that is accommodating unaccompanied children seeking asylum has a safeguarding lead; and what percentage of hotels have in place a safeguarding lead.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The Home Office takes the wellbeing, welfare and security of children and minors in our care extremely seriously. Robust safeguarding procedures are in place to ensure all children and minors are safe and supported as we seek urgent placements with local authorities. Young people are supported by team leaders and support workers who are on site 24 hours a day. Further care is provided in hotels by teams of specialist social workers and nurses, with additional support provided by two professional safeguarding advisors from Safeguarding Advice and Children’s Champion Unit.

Asylum

Lord Scriven: To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of individuals that will arrive in the UK seeking asylum in (1) 2023, (2) 2024, (3) 2025, if the provisions of the Illegal Migration Bill are enacted.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: An impact assessment will be published for the Illegal Migration Bill in due course.

Asylum

Lord Scriven: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to Written Answer byLord Murray of Blidworth on 24 March (HL6373), why, over the past 13 years,they have allowed the UK to have a "broken asylum system".

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The significant increase in dangerous journeys across the Channel is placing unprecedented strain on our asylum system. Those in need of protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach rather than risking their lives or paying people smugglers to make the dangerous journey across the Channel. The UK has a proud history of supporting refugees and since 2015, we have offered a place to just under half a million men, women and children seeking safety – including those from Hong Kong, Syria, Afghanistan, and Ukraine, as well as family members of refugees Our focus will remain on helping people directly from regions of conflict and instability, as the best way to help the most vulnerable who are at risk of war and persecution is through safe and legal routes. This bypasses the evil criminal gangs and protects vulnerable people, including children.

Refugees: Resettlement

Lord German: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Murray of Blidworth on 22 March (HL6242), how many of those 30,055 people resettled in the UK through UNHCR routeswere resettled since 2015.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: Between 2015 and 2022, 28,302 people have been resettled to the UK through UNHCR resettlement routes. The UK ranks 2nd highest of European countries over this period.Between 2015 and 2022, people were offered safe and legal routes into the UK via BN(O) Hong Kong Visas (153,708 visas granted), Ukraine Visa and Extension Schemes (233,770 visas granted), family reunion visas (44,659 visas granted) and established resettlement or relocation schemes (49,667 people).Of the 49,667 people resettled or relocated over this period, 28,302 were through UNHCR resettlement routes and 21,365 were through non-UNHCR routes (i.e. Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme Pathway 1 and Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy).

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Liverpool Strategic Futures Panel

Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government what role they expect to play in the Liverpool Strategic Futures Panel now that it is meeting.

Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the papers and minutes of the meetings of the Liverpool Strategic Futures Panel will be published.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: The Liverpool Strategic Futures Panel will provide reports to the Secretary of State, which will be published. The Panel is supported by officials from DLUHC and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. A wide range of stakeholders across the Liverpool City Region, including the Commissioners to Liverpool City Council, will be consulted as the Panel develops plans. Further to the answer of Baroness Scott of Bybrook on 23 March 2023, the Panel will meet monthly in private.

Liverpool City Council: Standards

Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total financial cost to date of the Commissioners sent to Liverpool.

Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government what other costs (i.e. travel, hotel costs etc.) have been incurred to date by the Commissioners sent to Liverpool.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: On 8 November 2022, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities updated the House on the additional appointment of a finance Commissioner and the expansion of the intervention in Liverpool City Council to cover finance, governance, and recruitment, along with updated Directions of the intervention. Following on from the answer of Lord Greenhalgh, on 5 April 2022, the Commissioners' pay arrangements were set out in paragraph 45 of the updated Explanatory Memorandum to the Directions made under section 15(5) and (6) of the Local Government Act 1999. The Directions provide that the Commissioners' reasonable expenses and such fees as the Secretary of State determines are to be paid to them by the Authority.A full breakdown of the Commissioners' invoiced fees and expenses are published periodically on Liverpool City Council's website.updated Explanatory Memorandum to the Directions (pdf, 191.4KB)

Private Rented Housing

Lord Truscott: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the report by Zoopla that the number of homes available to rent in the UK has fallen by a third over the past 18 months; and what steps they are taking to deal with the declining availability of rental properties.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: The Government recognises that demand is currently outstripping the supply of properties available to let. The reasons for this are difficult to disentangle, but we believe it is due to a mixture of demographic changes, including domestic and international migration, and pent-up demand following the pandemic.The number of rented properties has doubled since 2004 – peaking in 2016 and remaining roughly stable since.We are driving up the supply of new homes by diversifying the market, investing in affordable housing, and increasing land supply for new homes by investing in infrastructure. We also remain committed to continue working towards our ambition of delivering 300,000 homes per year to help create a more sustainable and affordable housing market.

Ministry of Defence

World War II: Military Decorations

Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton: To ask His Majesty's Government for what reasons they decided to institute the Bomber Command Clasp.

Baroness Goldie: Following Sir John Holmes' independent Medal Review in 2012, the Bomber Command Clasp to the 1939-45 Star was introduced for aircrew who served in Bomber Command. Sir John concluded that Bomber Command had been treated inconsistently with those who served in the Battle of Britain, and his recommendation of the award of a clasp to Bomber Command air crew brought them into line with Fighter Command veterans, who were awarded a Battle of Britain clasp to the 1939-45 Star.

World War II: Military Decorations

Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton: To ask His Majesty's Government for what reasons they decided to institute the Arctic Convoy Star.

Baroness Goldie: Following Sir John Holmes' independent Medal Review in 2012, the Arctic Star was introduced for veterans of the Arctic Convoys to Russia from 1942-1944. Sir John concluded that a separate Star for the Arctic was warranted on the basis that this comprised a distinct theatre of war in its own right, and his recommendation of the award of a bespoke campaign medal brought Arctic convoy veterans into line with awards for other distinct campaigns, such as the Africa and Italy Stars.

Department for Work and Pensions

Cost of Living: Women

Baroness Thornton: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support vulnerable girls and young women given the increased cost of living.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The Government understands the pressures people, including vulnerable women and girls, are facing with the cost of living and is taking action to help. Everyone who receives a state benefit or pension will have seen their benefit rates increase by 10.1% this month. In order to increase the number of households who can benefit from these uprating decisions, the benefit cap levels have also increased by the same amount. To further support those who are in work, from 1 April, the National Living Wage (NLW) increased by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over - the largest ever cash increase for the NLW. Households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to £900 in Cost of Living Payments, paid in three separate payments of £301, £300 and £299 across the 2023/24 financial year. The first payment of £301 will be paid to the majority of those eligible between 25 April and 17 May. In addition, people on qualifying disability benefits will receive a separate Disability Cost of Living payment of £150 in the summer. For people who require additional support, whether they receive benefits or not, the Household Support Fund will continue until March 2024. This year long extension allows Local Authorities in England to continue to provide discretionary support to those most in need with the significantly rising cost of living. The guidance for Local Authorities for this next iteration has now been published and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/household-support-fund-guidance-for-local-councils/1April 2023 to 31 March 2024: Household Support Fund guidance for county councils and unitary authorities in England - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). This sets out that the fund should be used to support households in the most need, particularly those who are not eligible for other cost of living support such as Cost of Living Payments. The Devolved Administrations will receive consequential funding as usual to spend at their discretion. More broadly, tackling violence against women and girls is a Government priority. The Government is committed to ensuring victims have the support they need and we are conscious that the cost of living may generate additional challenges for victims and survivors. Our Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan invests over £230 million of cross-Government funding into tackling this crime, including over £140 million to support victims and over £81 million to tackle perpetrators. This includes trialling a £300,000 ‘flexible fund’, that could make direct payments to domestic abuse victims. In addition to the direct impact on victims, the Government also acknowledges the cost of living will have an impact on charitable organisations who work to support them. To help mitigate these challenges, where possible the Home Office has provided multi-year grants to support organisations to make maximum use of their funding, by providing greater stability and predictability on their budgets.

Department for Education

Secure Accommodation

Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Bellamy on 8 March (HL5707), what assessment they have made of the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory report What do we know about children and young people deprived of their liberty in England and Wales?, published on 9 February 2022; and what steps they plan to take in response to the recommendations for collecting and publishing data made in that report.

Baroness Barran: The department welcomes the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory’s report ‘What do we know about children and young people deprived of their liberty in England and Wales’, and recognises the growing concerns regarding deprivation of liberty (DoL) cases. Children and young people deprived of their liberty are some of the most vulnerable children in society.The newly launched National DoLs Court has helped the judiciary and the government gain more robust data and a greater understanding of this cohort of children who are often the subject of DoL proceedings, which requires a cross-system response.The department accepts that there is a need for more robust data and will be meeting with the Ministry of Justice, HM Courts and Tribunals Services, and Nuffield to discuss their recommendations. Officials are meeting with Nuffield on 19 April. As data collection continues, we will be able to better understand the number of children placed in different settings, their characteristics, experiences and outcomes.

Ministry of Justice

Sentencing Council for England and Wales

Lord Jackson of Peterborough: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the next Tailored Review of the Sentencing Council will include consideration of victims of crime and their representatives as key stakeholders; and if not, why not.

Lord Bellamy: The Sentencing Council considers all aspects of sentencing, including the impact of crime on victims generally. The Department has no plans to review the composition or functions of the Sentencing Council.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Transcaucasus: Roads

Baroness Cox: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with government of Azerbaijan about opening of Lachin Corridor in both directions, further to the International Court of Justice’s Order of provisional measures on the application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; and what assurances they have received from the government of that country on the matter.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK Government has noted the International Court of Justice's judgments, and continues to call for immediate action to re-open the Lachin Corridor and restore the flow of goods and people into Nagorno-Karabakh. In a statement to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on 2 March, our Ambassador stated that the parties to the conflict must engage in substantive negotiations, without preconditions, to secure a sustainable and peaceful settlement to the conflict and to resolve all outstanding tensions. This followed engagements by the Minister for Europe with the Armenian and Azerbaijani governments over January and February this year.

Iran: Russia

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the remarks by US Deputy State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel to reporters at a briefing on 27 March regarding the expansion of military cooperation between Russia and Iran, including Russia’s use of Iranian-manufactured drones in Ukraine, and in particular, reports that Russia is helping Iran to achieve advanced digital surveillance capabilities.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is clear that Russia and Iran's relationship does not just affect Ukraine. On 9 December in a statement the Foreign Secretary highlighted Russia's offer of military and technical support to the Iranian regime and the risk this poses to international security and our partners in the Middle East.Alongside our allies the Government has introduced severe sanctions against Russia's defence industry, including prohibiting exports of defence equipment to Russia. Iran's supply of drones to Russia violates United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 and we will continue to work with the international community to hold Russia and Iran to account and deter others from supporting Russia's illegal war in Ukraine.

Ukraine: War Crimes

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Ukraine about establishing a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression; and whether, in any such discussions, the Ukrainian constitution has proved to be an impediment to establishing such a body during the current state of Martial Law.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: As the Foreign Secretary announced on 20 January, the UK has accepted Ukraine's invitation to join a 'core group' to consider options for ensuring criminal accountability for Russia's aggression against Ukraine, including possibly through a special tribunal. Discussions into how to achieve this continue, including around potential issues linked to the Ukrainian constitution. These are complex issues of international law, which the group must be allowed time to consider.